The Angels Can Wait
by Alicia Hardy
Summary: The three Hardys walked into a deadly trap. Alicia makes it out with some cuts, but the boys are rushed to the hospital after being shot. Joe is in critical condition, and though he is conscious, he is fading fast. T for minor violence. Updated!
1. Chapter 1

**Angels ****Can ****Wait**

"No!"

Everything slowed down for Alicia as she heard three gun shots fired in the deserted alley. Joe a split second before had pushed her towards the ground as he and Frank moved to protect her. Her descent to the pavement seemed to take minutes rather than the two seconds it actually took. She watched the red/orange sparks light up the darkness just before she hit the ground, hard. She turned her head and saw Frank twist and fall, clutching his left side.

A moment later, Joe flinched twice as he landed beside her. She had no time to think, and yet, she seemed to have all the time she needed. She picked up one of the glass shards that she had landed on and tossed it at the closest man. It hit him straight in the eye, and he dropped his gun. She then picked up the pipe that was leaning on the dumpster and rolled closer. A sharp pain went through her side as she stood, followed by a ripping sound. She didn't hesitate to see what had happened; she just swung the pole straight at the second man's head with all of her might. The thud was sickening, and she felt a little queasy after she thought about what she had just done. The first man was still scrambling for his gun, so she closed her eyes as she swung the pipe again. She had to protect her brothers, like they had done for her, her entire life.

"Oh no. Frank! Joe!"

She ran to her brothers' side. Frank was grimacing, and turning pale, but he had managed to sit up. As she knelt by his side, he scoffed sardonically. "It's only a flesh wound," he mocked, sounding quite out of breath. "Knocked the wind out of me more than anything." He flinched as she double checked the bullet hole.

"It was a clean shot, but you are losing too much blood. Here," she said, as she removed her light sports jacket and tied it around his wound tight. "Hold that there. And press hard, ok? I'm also going to ask you to call 911. I seemed to have dropped my phone." He pulled out his phone and dialed.

She turned to Joe. "How are you holding up, Joe?" He didn't respond. "Joe?" He weakly groaned as she moved over to him and gasped. Two bullets holes were spaced 4 inches apart. One had landed below his shoulder, the other, dangerously close to his heart. "You stupid idiot," She cried softly. She rolled him over and placed his head on her lap. "You took my bullet, too. Reckless brother."

Joe opened his eyes, and looked at her with all of his Hardy charm to mask the pain. "Someone has to take care of you," he said, his voice not much above a whisper. At the worried look in her eyes, he told her, "You know, brothers and sister, together we'll make it through."

She shook her head and smiled as looked down at her nice white blouse that was now shades of asphalt black and blood red. There was a tear all the way up her side. "Perfect." She tore a strip off the bottom of the ruined blouse, turned it into a make shift tourniquet and tied it above his wound, directly on the pressure point. She tore up the rest of the bottom half of her blouse, and held it to his heart. "Frank!" she said, the disguised worry in her voice evident to both brothers. "Are you ok? Did you call?"

"I'm ok, Alicia. But you are in pretty bad shape yourself. Shouldn't you…" Frank saw the blank look in her eyes, and the calm, professional manner she was conducting herself. She was in first aid mode. While she was there, nothing could touch her, not even the sight of blood, which she usually fainted at the sight. Her pain was nothing right now, emotionally or physically. Frank dragged himself over to his younger siblings and leaned against the dumpster. He cast worried glances at his little sister, wishing he could take care of her, but there was nothing he could do.

Alicia looked down at her older brother, who had started to close his eyes. "Joe, Stay with me. Don't fall asleep. It's too soon." She came close to tears, then begged, "Talk to me, Joe." His eyes struggled back open.

"Alicia…" His voice cracked as he spoke her name. "It's alright. Everything is ok."

The distant wail of sirens made Alicia anxious. Would they get here quick enough- she thought. "Joe, please, the ambulance is on its way. Please, just stay with me."

"Listen, there is something, I want both of you to know, just in case…"

Frank interrupted, "Joe, you aren't going to die. We've been through worse scrapes than this before, and we always come out alright." He took his brothers closest hand and held it in his. "You're not going to die," he said again, softly and sternly. He wondered if he said it for Joe's benefit, or for his own and Alicia's.

Joe shook his head, something that seemed to take a lot of effort. "I'm not so sure," he said, taking a shallow breath. "Please, just promise me something." Alicia and Frank waited for him to continue, and Alicia ran one hand through his blonde hair. "Don't cry for me when I'm gone, at least, not too much. No point in wasting them, you know."

"Joseph Hardy! If you weren't in such a fragile state I would slug you for that! How can you say tears are wasted on you?" Alicia's eyes were blazing now, and the tears fell more steadily. She felt her concentration slipping, and knew it was only a matter of time before the full reality hit, and she would break down.

"I didn't mean it like that," Joe said slightly defensive. "I only meant this was bound to happen eventually. Our day will come. Mine… just may be coming sooner rather than later."

"Joe, please don't talk like that," Frank said quietly, as the sirens got louder. They had to be only 8 blocks away now, he thought. "Alicia needs you. I need you. You aren't done yet."

Joe thought for a moment, and as his vision darkened, the thought struck him. Maybe this was Destiny. "I've seen so much, heard, felt so much. I've grown and done so much. I just wanted you to be proud of me… And you've been there and helped me through it all. There is nothing… in this world that could repay… these… 17 years…" His breaths grew much shallower, and Frank gripped his hand tighter.

Alicia shook her head, and tears fell everywhere. "Where is that damn ambulance?"

_I'm here and I feel like I'm  
Delayin' you, betrayin' you,_

Joe smiled, "I don't… think I've ever heard… you curse before… Alicia." He smirked, "What would your mother say?"

_And when I'm gone I hope there's  
someone savin' you._

"Frank? Mom and Dad?"

"I called them, they are meeting us at the hospital. It will take them a while to get here from Bayport."

"Alicia…" Joe asked quietly, "One more request..." She listened intently. "Sing… for me?"

She nodded, and started to sing.

Frank could see the lights now, and the siren wailed one last time before he saw the ambulance pull over to the entrance of the alley.

Police and two of the paramedics ran to the two unconscious men. The rest of the paramedics ran to the three teenagers, and surrounded Joe. They placed him gently onto a stretcher, and started talking him over to the ambulance, all the while hooking him up to fluids and oxygen. Alicia tried to follow, but a few more paramedics were surrounding her, trying to get her to lie down on one of the stretchers. "I'm fine! Let me go!" She moved to stand and walk over to where they were they were loading Frank into a second ambulance. As she took her first step, pain shot through her sides and back, and she felt extremely lightheaded. One of the younger EMT's caught her as she fell. "I want to ride with one of my brothers. And I refuse to lie down in a stretcher."

The EMT smiled at her stubbornness and picked her up from under her knees. She put her head on his shoulder as he carried her over to the ambulances. As he sat her down in her own ambulance, she fought him.

"No! Let me go! My brothers! Joe! Frank!"

"Calm down," The EMT said calmly and sympathetically. "You are in a lot worse shape than you think you are in." He sat her down and looked at her, messy blouse and all. Alicia suddenly grew very self conscious. "You know, those tourniquets were a smart idea. That was quick thinking on your part. Now let me take care of you, ok?" As Alicia nodded, another EMT climbed in and closed the door and two others climbed into the front. "I'm Alex, by the way." He said, trying to distract her.

Alicia nodded, not staring at anything. Her eyes blazed, and hot tears spilled out of her eyes. She wiped them away harshly as the second EMT started working on some of her major cuts, pulling out shards of glass, rocks, and bits of dark blue plastic. She gasped in pain, but denied anything for it. She held onto one of Alex's hands with both of hers, and held her eyes closed tight, praying, and hoping the pain would cover the excuse for her tears, rather than the fear of losing Joe.

"I guess you haven't realized what happened to your cell-phone, have you?" Alex joked as her held up some of the blue shards. One was marked clearly with the Verizon check.

"Must have broken during the fall," she said numbly, her voice cracking. She felt a prick on her arm. She flinched, and immediately felt drowsy. "You loser," she said with a little endearment. "drugging a poor… helpless girl…" She smiled slightly. "Thank you," she whispered, as she closed her eyes and fell into oblivion.

"Really?" the second EMT flipped her hair out of her eyes. "You could have just put antibiotics in the IV. It would have made my job easier."

"Relax, Susan. She needed this, it will save her from the physical pain and emotional, so she can handle them one at a time. Besides, it was only a small dosage. She'll wake up in an hour." Alex looked at the girl who was now leaning on his shoulder. Susan had finished cleaning her cuts, and was now bandaging them. He held her still as the poor girls exposed flesh was completely covered in gauze bandages. They reached the hospital a few minutes later, and due to her wishes, Alex carried her to the door of the ER.

_To be continued…_

_**A/N: I do not own anything recognizable. The song I based this off of is **__**Stay With Me**__**-DJ Ironik. I removed the lyrics in accordance with FF's rules, but you should still listen to the song. Hope you enjoy. Please review.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: I almost cried writing the last chapter. Thanks to those who reviewed and added my story to story alerts or me to their favorites. It means a lot to me.**_

Frank watched Joe being rolled in through the doors to the ER from his spot on the stretcher. Joe's eyes were closed, and the mass rush of voices drifted over to Frank. "We have to get him into surgery." "Hang another pouch of O-Neg." Frank he heard another siren come up to the doors, and a muffled cry as his mother ran up to Joe all the way from the patrol car, before the nurses held her back from the surgery doors, explaining in calm muffled tones the procedure.

"How are you holding up, Frank?" Fenton's voice cracked a little as he saw his eldest son rolled past on a gurney. He paced with the nurses, who let him in willingly, and held on to his son's hand.

Frank blinked back the tears in his eyes. "I'm alright. It was a clean shot, through and through. It didn't hit anything important from the looks of it. They just want to make sure." He paused before saying, "Alicia…?"

"I'm going to go check on her; as soon as I see to it your mother is ok and I send her over here. Alicia was being carried in by an EMT as we sped through the parking lot." He shook his head. "The EMT said she fought him, and then stubbornly denied painkillers. They ended up giving her something that knocked her out."

"Sounds like Alicia." Frank said with a tight smile. A selfish part of him wanted his dad to stay with him, but he knew that having someone slightly level headed around is both what his mother and sister needed at the moment. And who better to keep them that way than the Hardy men.

As they wheeled him into a small curtained cubical to wait for an MRI, Frank let go of his dads hand with a smile. "Go take care of the Hardy women. I'll be here for a while, knowing the ER quite well myself." His dad chuckled lightly; they were both trying to ease the tension, knowing full well there was nothing they could do until Joe was out of surgery.

Fenton walked out of the cubical to find his wife being escorted back to the waiting room. "Laura!" he called. She turned and ran into his arms. "He looks so pale, Fenton, they won't let me go with him…" she sobbed into his shoulder. He patted her on the back and kissed the top of her forehead.

"Why don't you go wait with Frank? He needs someone right now, and I want to be there when Alicia wakes up." Laura nodded, wiped her eyes, and the nurse pulled back the curtain to reveal where her eldest son was lying, wrapped up in a heated blanket. Fenton saw her mess with his hair before the curtain swung closed. He walked over to the nurse who was looking over Frank's medical file.

"Excuse me," he asked, his voice still quiet, and for some reason he couldn't bring himself to talk louder. "Excuse me," he said again, and the nurse looked up. "Could you help me find my daughter? Her name is Alicia Hardy. An EMT told me he would bring her back here few moments ago." He waited as the nurse asked a nearby EMT who was headed back out of the ER.

"Yeah, Alex had a girl; I think they moved her to recovery. You should check with the front desk." Fenton muttered thanks and ran out of the ER doors. He hurried over to the front desk and desperately asked the woman sitting there for his daughter.

"Her name is Alicia Hardy. They said they move her to recovery." He waited, tapping his finger nervously on the desk, wondering if they would let him in.

"Yes, room 132. She hasn't woken up yet." The nurse looked at Fenton sympathetically. "Are you her father?" As he nodded, she stood up from the desk and motioned to another nurse to take her spot. "I'll show you to the room. It's just right this way." They walked down the long white corridors until they were close to the end of the hall. Arriving at the room, Fenton looked in and saw two nurses moving her onto the bed. As they left, one nodded and said, "You may go in now."

Fenton walked over to his daughter's bedside. He sat down and grabbed her small hand. He turned it over in his, and traced the lines. His little girl was a fighter, and he hated seeing her like this. Her arm was bandaged from below her wrist to just her elbow. He knew that she had a large gash in her side, too, from when he saw her still in her torn blouse. A tear slid down his cheek as he thought of what must have happened in that alley, and to have all three of his children in the hospital at the same time.

A while later, Alicia's fingers curled around his, and he looked expectantly at her, hoping she would open her eyes. "Alicia?"

~o~

Alicia heard someone call her name, distantly. "Alicia? Can you hear me?"

She tried to respond, but her mind was all foggy and her throat wouldn't respond to her commands. Her words came out as a moan instead of a coherent sentence. She tried to open her eyes, but nothing seemed to be working. Subconsciously, Alicia was annoyed. This is why she hated drugs, no matter how useful they were at the moment, it just made things more complicated later. She tried again, and this time was met with a bright glare.

"Ow…" she muttered, as she squeezed her eyes closed tight again. She took her free hand and shielded her eyes while she tried to open them again. –Wait a second– she thought. Her free hand, what was the other hand doing? She looked over to the side and saw the look of relief on her father's face. "Dad," she smiled excitedly, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just checking up on my little girl. I heard you got into trouble again," he said, swallowing his tears.

It was too late though; Alicia had already caught on to his pain. "Daddy?" she asked, concerned. "What's wrong?" As she slowly started to remember where she was and how she got there, fear gripped her. "Where are the boys?" she choked out, her voice blocked by the tears she knew were coming.

Her dad squeezed her hand. "Frank is alright, they just want to make sure that nothing vital was hit. He should be in recovery soon, just after his MRI." He stayed silent for a long time, and would not look at her. She looked at him, pleading him to go on. When he looked up, he had tears in his eyes. "Joe went into surgery about a half hour ago. We haven't heard anything yet."

There was a knock on the door, and a nurse walked in, holding the door open for Laura, who rolled Frank in. "Now remember my conditions, you are not to leave that wheelchair," the nurse scolded. She looked at Fenton. "Your wife says all three of your children are this stubborn."

Alicia piped up. "No, I am much worse." She sat up all the way and stated plainly, "And I'm alright. I want to get out of here."

Alicia moved to get up, but her mother crossed the room and pushed her back down lightly, "You need your rest," she said, kissing her forehead. Alicia protested wildly, all of her nervousness and fear turning itself to pure adrenaline. The last thing she wanted to do was rest. She knew she lost the battle and collapsed back into the bed with a frustrated sigh, which hurt her side.

"Note to self, don't sigh or laugh to hard..." she muttered to herself.

The nurse turned to leave, but Frank called after her. "Do you know how our brother is doing? Is he out of surgery?"

"I'll come tell you as soon as I know anything." She left the room, and a silence fell over the Hardys. Alicia looked at her eldest brother, whose eyes were downcast as he mentally blamed himself for the events of the night.

"Frank?" As his eyes met hers, she felt a tear slip out on its own free will. "Don't. Joe will be fine."

Frank stood up out of his wheelchair. "Frank, you're not supposed to leave your wheelchair." Laura shook her head as Frank walked around to the other side of Alicia's bed and sat next to her. She slid over and he put his feet up on top of the blankets.

"See, Mom? No worries! I'm still resting."

Frank put his arm around his sister, and she put her head on his shoulder and hugged him tightly. "Everything will be alright," he murmured in her ear.

It wasn't long before Alicia's eyes grew heavy again and slowly closed. She shrunk down deeper into the blankets and her brothers comforting embrace, and drifted off to sleep. Frank smiled as her whole figure relaxed, the tale tell sign she was completely out. He gently moved her down and laid her out on the hospital bed. He stretched out on his side next to her, rested his head in his hand, and watched her gentle breaths. All the while, he thought about all the danger he put her in.

He absent mindedly pushed one of her dark auburn curls out of her eyes. A long time ago, he promised himself that he would never let his sister come to harm, and was firmly against her joining him and Joe on their mysteries. Every time they came home from the high school, she would run up and ask for the latest mystery, and he would try to change the subject to protect her from it. As he watched her peaceful figure, he knew now he had never regretted her coming along. She knew what she was doing, and that was something he had grown to accept. "And I would have come along anyways," Alicia's voice said in his head. It was true, he reminded himself. His sister was definitively the most stubborn of them all, and she learned it from Joe. And that thought reassured him more than anything else. They were fighters. This wasn't the end.

~o~ the angels can wait for a moment ~o~

Joe couldn't believe it. Was he really dying? His life was flashing before his eyes, and now…

He knew he was out cold in the hospital, undergoing surgery. So why could he think? Was he somewhere between life and death, waiting for fate to decide? He thought of his mother and father, and his two siblings, who were waiting for him to come back. He couldn't leave them. It was still too soon. Frank and Alicia would blame themselves, asking what if they had done something different. He would not leave them with that guilt. He couldn't; no, he wouldn't.

The thoughts darkened, and soon he was back in dark oblivion.

_**Flashback**_

"_Frank! Joe!" Alicia cried._

_The young boys ran over to a dark hole in the ground. "Alicia? Are you down there?" Joe asked._

_A muffled affirmative sob was the reply. "There is a cave down here, but it's really small and dark. I don't like it. Help me, please."_

"_It will be ok, Alicia!" Joe called down. "Your big brothers are coming." Joe turned to Frank. "Go get help, I'm going to crawl down and keep her calm and safe." As he moved to go, Frank put a hand on his shoulder, _

"_You go get help. You're faster, and I know you'll try something risky if I leave you on your own." Joe gave him a reproachful glance. "Hey, she's my little sister too, and I'm responsible for both of you." Joe glanced at the cave for a second more before taking off back towards the town. Frank walked over to the cave entrance. "Alicia? Is there enough room for me to slide down next to you?" A small yes came from the bottom. He grabbed his pocket flashlight and shined it down. It was a long ways down. He hooked the flashlight to his shoelaces and turned and backed into the hole. "You'll have to guide me, Alicia. Can you see the light?"_

"_Yes, I can. You are about 10 feet above me right now. There is a ledge two feet below your shoe right now." When Frank reached the bottom, the area opened up into a four foot by four foot room. He found his 7 year old sister curled in a little ball, frightened out of her mind. _

_He walked over to her and put his arm around the shaking Alicia, "Don't worry, everything will be alright."_

_Alicia looked up at Frank, who was mentally beating himself up for not protecting his sister. "Frank, don't. It was all my fault. I ran off without you and tripped. Don't blame yourself." She cuddled in tighter, afraid that the darkness would take him away from her. They sat there like that until Joe came back with help and pulled them up._

"_Alicia!" Joe exclaimed with relief. "You're alright!" He hugged her tightly, then nodded to Frank. They both took one of their hands and walked back to the trail they had been exploring. _

"_Now we won't lose anyone." Frank said solidly. "From now on, we'll stick together."_

_Alicia stopped and pondered. "Together? I'd like that... Promise that we will be together for a really, really, really long time? Like forever, ok?"_

_Frank and Joe looked at their sister, and nodded. "We won't ever leave you alone." Joe said finally. "Ever."_

~o~

Fenton wrapped his coat around Frank's sleeping form. He had fallen asleep watching over his sister, who had fallen asleep in his arms as they were waiting for news about their brother. He walked over to his wife, who was staring out the window, and wrapped his arms around her tenderly. "Are you ok?" he whispered in her ear. When she nodded, he kissed her cheek. She turned in to his arms and started quietly crying into his shoulder. He held her steadily, and ran his fingers through her hair. A few tears of his own came to his eyes, but he blinked them back. -For Laura's sake- he thought.

When she stopped, she pulled back a little and said, "I'm just tired, and worried. I'm afraid I'll lose all of my children if I lose one. They are inseparable." She looked over at the bed, which brought a sad smile to her face.

"You should get some sleep," Fenton said softly. He led her over to the couch in the corner of the room. "I think the nurses realized we would be here for a while." He smiled lightly, and took her long jacket and draped it across her shoulders, and sat down beside her, stroking her shoulder as she laid down, her eyes still wide open.

There was a light tap on the door, and Laura sat up straight. "I came to take Frank back to his room, so he could sleep. I guess this works as well," the nurse said, smiling at the two still in a deep sleep. "I came to let you know, your other son is out of surgery now. He's having trouble breathing on his own, but otherwise he is stable. He hasn't woken up, and we aren't sure if…" Laura stifled a small sob, "…but you can go see him."

Laura looked at her husband, and they stood to go see their youngest son. When Fenton glanced at the two sleeping, he thought about waking them. Laura put a hand on his arm. "Let them sleep until we get back. A few more moments won't hurt them."

They left the room, turned out the lights, and the door clicked shut behind them.

_**A/N: I don't know about anyone else, but the worst part about the ER and hospitals is the hopeless waiting around, where all you can do is pray and wait. This is a lot longer than I meant it to be, but I keep coming up with ideas. Please R&R. tell me what you think. Also, this is from my minimal experience in a hospital… so take this as an artistic styling and ignore the liberties I'm taking. **_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Super sorry guys! I had fifteen papers, quizzes, and exams to study for, then I moved back home, got a job, planned a grad party for my brother…. Thanks for the reviews! And to LivingLifeLarge: Thanks for the idea! It really helped. Hope this meets your expectations. Also: Thanks to Corkybookworm1 for getting me back in gear. I know it's short, but it's just for now until I finish this chapter. I figured something was better than nothing for my readers. Hope you all forgive me!**_

Frank woke up to a nearly empty room, light starting to enter the window. "Joe must be out of surgery," he thought. Alicia was still lying next to him completely asleep. He turned around to find someone messing with his IV. It took him a moment to realize it wasn't a nurse. He cried out, and Alicia woke up next to him.

Alicia was startled as nurses and security personnel ran into their room. Frank had pulled the IV out of his arm and was bleeding quite profusely. As a few of the nurses swarmed him, one of the nurses went and removed her IV. "Just in case."

Security wrestled the man to the ground, handcuffed him, and escorted him out. The nurses moved Frank to another gurney and rolled him out after them.

Alicia was furious as they took another of her brothers away from her. As they tested her blood for any toxins, she started to get a headache.

"If everything checks out, will one of you kindly roll me to one of my brothers? I'm not going to stay here. I'm fine, and there is no reason for me to be here." Alicia hated being alone, especially when she was scared out of her mind like this.

"You're wrong. You are badly injured, and are no good to your family if you make it worse by not resting." A male voice came from the door. "How are you holding up?"

Alicia looked at the man, puzzled. When he smiled, something clicked. "Oh, you were the EMT who knocked me out: Alex, right?" She shrugged her good shoulder as the nurse pushed past him with the blood sample. "I guess besides the fact someone just tried to kill us again, and my family is spread out across the entire hospital, and I very well can't solve the case that landed us here lying in a hospital waiting for news that no one wants to tell me, I'm holding up great." Hot tears fell from her eyes. "I'm sick of this. I want to know what is going on. I don't care how badly I'm hurt. I want to see my brothers." She looked down and lowered her voice. "They're all I have."

Alex walked over and sat on her bed. "Everything is going to be ok." He put his hand on top of hers. "In fact, I passed your parents in the hall a few hours or so ago. They said something about your brother Joe getting out of surgery." He squeezed her hand lightly. "Would you like me to ask one of the nurses about his condition?" As she nodded, Alex stood and moved to the door. He called one of the nurses and started murmuring to her. She responded, and Alicia only caught the words "hypoxia" and "pneumothorax," which of course meant almost nothing to her. As the nurse rattled on, Alex nodded.

"Thank you," he said, turning back around. He returned to the bed side and squeezed her hand again. "The surgery was successful, and everything seems to be fine, his body is responding to the treatments, but…" He stopped, debating what to tell her. "He's… in a coma, and not waking up."

"No!"

_To be continued- Sorry guys! something is better than nothing, though, right?_


	4. Chapter 4

Alicia stared. "No, no, no," she muttered over and over again. She sunk back into the pillows, the throbbing in her head and side steadily growing worse. She massaged her temples. "I need to get out of here. Fresh air, food, something, anything." She looked over to Alex. "Are you off duty?" As he nodded, she asked, "Then why are you still here?" She was very apprehensive of the man.

"I wanted to make sure you were ok and that the nurses were taking good care of you." He smiled, trying to ease her tension. "I know you are a very particular patient. Besides, I don't have anywhere to be until my normal sleep schedule, which isn't until after lunch." He pressed the button beside her bed. "Let's see if I can't make at least two of your requests possible." As the nurse came in, Alex flourished. "Ah, Jacqueline, my fine friend. What would be on the breakfast menu for this charming lass?"

"Hitting on patients again, are you Alex?" Jacqueline shook her head and turned her attention to Alicia. "Anything you'd like, provided we have it."

"A cup of fruit will be fine, and maybe a waffle?" She asked, hopeful.

The nurse nodded and left to grant her wish, and Alicia looked up at Alec. "You _are _hitting on me in my vulnerable state."

Alex held up his hands in defense. "Not at all! I swear. You'll know when I'm hitting on you. And that's the truth, not a pick up line," he added quickly. Alicia smiled slightly. It only stayed for a second, but it was what he had been hoping for.

"Come on. Let's go see how your brothers are doing." He grabbed a wheelchair from behind a curtain and unfolded it. He lifted her carefully into the chair, only to smirk and add, "Or would you prefer to be carried?"

Alicia stuck out her tongue at him as he started to roll her down the hall to Joe's recovery room. Alicia held her breath as she was rolled into the room.

Fenton Hardy looked up and smiled lightly. "Hey, sweetheart. How are you doing?" He was aware of his daughter's hot temper, though she often was quite calm, and was sure no matter what he said, she would be set off by it.

Sure enough, after glancing at her brother, laying there, sleeping peacefully, she spoke in a choke back voice. "I'd be better if everyone would stop acting like I'm the one dying and… And…"

"And you know that you are hurt and that your brothers will be fine. In fact, the poison that man slipped into Frank's of IV wasn't very potent." Fenton stepped up to get his daughter and gave her a hug. He looked up at Alex and gave him a nod. "Thanks for bringing her; I'll take it from here." He said, standing back up.

"No problem, Mr. Hardy. If you need anything," he said turning to Alicia, "This is my personal phone number. And yes," he whispered as he slipped her the paper, "You can count that as hitting on you. But I really do hope you call if you need anything." With that and a wink, he left.

"Well, that was bold." Fenton exclaimed, surprised. "Doing that in front of your father and older brother: he is asking for it."

Alicia looked at the slip of paper and slipped it into her pocket. "Nah, Joe would be proud, saying something about the Hardy charm at work, or how he taught me well, or…" She looked over at Joe's peaceful sleeping figure, a sad look on her face. "He will wake up, right? Coma just means that he hasn't woken up or responded in six hours, but that's not that long, right?"

Fenton put a hand on her shoulder. "It will be alright. He is a Hardy boy."

"Where is Mom?"

"I sent her home with Gertrude. She was sick with worry, so Gertrude is making sure she rests." Alicia nodded and started to cry.

"Daddy, why won't he wake up? Doesn't he know we still need him?" Fenton wrapped his arms around his daughter, holding her tenderly as she cried into his shoulder. "It's my fault he's here. It was my lead, my call, m-my bullet… "

"No, Alicia, no," her father scolded gently. "The only person who is at fault is the person who pulled the trigger. And we'll catch whoever is responsible." He lifted her chin to look at her, then said, softly, but stern, "We will catch them, Alicia."

Alicia nodded and swallowed, looking over at Joe. _If only we were as sure about Joe waking up…_


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: Hey Everybody! Sorry for the extremely long break. I'm back, and I'll be posting new chapters on this and on **__**All the World: A Stage**__** almost everyday while I'm on vacation. As long as I have internet, that is. So check back everyday, and if you are just joining us, check out **__**Introduction to Disaster**__** and my profile for more on Alicia. Believe me, things will make a lot more sense. Enjoy! And don't forget to review :D**_

Two days later, Joe still hadn't woken up, and Frank and Alicia had been released from the hospital. For the most part, Alicia spent her time sleeping outside Joe's room in the waiting chairs. Currently, she was falling asleep holding his hand at the end of visiting hours.

"Come on, Alicia, hun," Laura said with a small smile. "You can't live here. Come home, sleep in a real bed, eat a real meal, and we'll come back in the morning." Alicia shook her head stubbornly and kept her hand in Joe's.

"We can't just leave him alone. What if he wakes up?"

Frank put his hands on Alicia's shoulders, turning her around. "Alicia, stop it." Alicia looked up, surprised at the stern tone in his voice. "Stop acting like you are a child. You're the youngest, not a baby. Everyone else is as worried as you are, so stop acting so selfish."

"Frank…" she said, her voice breaking as she tried not to cry.

Frank was going to continue when their mother stopped him with a soft word. "Frank, that's enough. We all are on edge. Come on."

Alicia squeezed Joe's hand, then left the room with her mother. Frank waited a moment, turning to Joe. "Hold on, please." He followed quickly behind the ladies, closing the door without looking back.

Alicia didn't speak until they reached the parking lot. "That's not fair, Frank."

Frank looked up from his shoelaces. "What's not?"

"Your accusation."

"Alicia…" Laura warned, walking a ways into the parking lot as Fenton and Gertrude pulled up in the van, and she got into the passenger seat.

"No, Mom," she said, stopping and turning on Frank. "You have to take the blame for everything! Does that makes you feel better, that everything is your fault? News Flash! It's not your fault! In fact, none of the decisions that lead to this were even yours! They were all mine!"

Laura tried to stop them, but Fenton put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. She nodded and closed the door, watching with worried eyes.

"I should have said no! I knew this was dangerous, and I should have never let you get involved, or we should have come up with another plan!"

"You don't control us, Frank! You can't make every decision for us!"

"I have to protect you and Joe! It's my job to!"

"Why, Frank? Why is it your job?!"

"I'm the eldest! And you're my little sister!"

"And you are going to protect me forever? Even when I'm married, have six kids of my own, or I'm an international spy or working undercover for the CIA on my own?!"

"I'm sure am! I'm not going to let you—"

"You're not going to let me?!" Alicia yelled. Frank was silent for the first time, realizing his mistake. Alicia lowered her voice. "It was my choice to go sleuthing with you two. It was my choice to lead us into that alley without knowing what we were getting into. It was Joe's choice to take that bullet for me. You can't always protect us Frank. You can't protect us from our own decisions. And you can't stop me from doing whatever I want to do with my life." She turned to walk to the van.

"Like hell."

Alicia stopped. "What?"

"Like hell I am. If you think I'm going to watch you throw your life away with reckless, half-formed decisions, you're in for a big wake up call."

Alicia turned back and walked towards him. In a low, chilling voice, she said, "I'd like to see you try." Instead of walking towards the van, she ran in the other direction, towards the pedestrian bridge. Frank sighed and followed her.

"Alicia… Alicia, wait. Where are you going?" He followed her and stopped behind her as she looked over the open highway. "Alicia, what are you doing?"

Alicia was silent for a second, then said softly, "Making a reckless, fully formed decision. If Joe doesn't wake up, and you still blame us for what happened—"

"I don't—" Frank started.

"Yes, you do. You won't say it out loud, but you blame me, don't you? That's why you are trying to blame yourself."

"To protect you from the blame?" Frank asked, skeptically, but knowing that there was truth to her words. He did blame her and Joe for this mess, and it made him feel even guiltier.

"If you still blame us for this, I'm not sure I can live with the guilt. I will catch our brother's killer and I will take him down, even if it costs me my life. I will take him down with me." Alicia was serious, and Frank knew it. He sighed and turned her around, gently.

"Then let's hope he wakes up. I don't want to lose both of you."

Alicia nodded, still solemn. She let him pull her into a hug, and lead her back towards the van, leaning against him.

"I'm sorry, Alicia."

"I'm sorry, too, Frank," she whispered. "I just don't know what to do anymore. I feel so lost."

Frank nodded. "I know. Me too."

As they climbed into the far back seats of the van, Alicia smiled. "What has a light side, a dark side, and holds the world together?"

Fenton smiled, as did Laura. "The Force?" he asked.

"Duct tape?" Gertrude shrugged.

"Joe," Frank said with a half smile.

Alicia smiled and curled into Frank's side, closing her eyes. "You."

Frank looked over at her, smiled the rest of the way, then closed his eyes and fell asleep as well.

Laura sighed and spoke softly. "All the blood relations of the Hardy's. You all have hidden dark sides, and save the world over."

"No kidding," Fenton said with a chuckle. "But not you?"

"Nope," She said with a grin. "I'm your light side. They don't call me the better half for nothing."

Fenton sighed and leaned over to kiss her. "That's too true." Laura smiled and kissed him back, deepening it slightly, Fenton going along, until a cough from the middle stopped them.

"Your children are asleep. I'm very much still here," Gertrude said with a chuckle.

"Sorry, Gert," Fenton said with a smile. "I don't know what came over us." After looking in the backseat as his kids, he put the van in drive and took off down the highway. "I think just knowing these two are going to pull through this just lifted the rest of the tension from this event."

Laura looked over at Fenton with a curious look. "They've never fought this badly before. How did you know to let them fight?"

Gertrude smiled. "When siblings fight, they are usually trying to say something they're not sure how to say. Sometimes, They need to fight just to get the 'I love you' across."

"I love you, Gertrude," Fenton said with a grin.

Gertrude rolled her eyes with a smile. "Shut up, Fenton."

Joe's life was replaying over and over again in his mind. All of the cases, all off the fun their family had on vacations, all of the secrets Alicia, Frank, and he had shared. He had to get back to that. Somehow, he'd wake up.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapters 6, 7, and 8 will be a little different, so bear with me. **_

* * *

Time slowly trickled by, and life started returning to a relatively normal pace. The mystery they had been working on was solved by some kids and their dog, the men responsible for landing them in the hospital were arrested and their trials were set, and Frank and Alicia returned to school, Frank attending seminars in Bayport's community college and taking most of his classes online, Alicia working shifts in the hospital's emergency room to save up for three university tuitions. She was convinced after everything was over and they didn't need to pay doctor bills anymore, all three of them would go to the dream college of their choice. Frank smiled when she told him that and pitched in with the money he started earning from the private detective agency.

They had paid for a semi-permanent room in the hospital's residential area, and came to visit Joe as often as they could. Alicia came every day (or night) after work without fail. This Friday was no different.

"Hey, Joe," Alicia said brightly, walking into the room. "You'll never guess what I have today." She looked over at the nightstand, where there was a basket of sugary treats, starting to overflow. "Okay, so you probably could guess, but what can I say? Every time Nancy, Bess, or George calls, they ask me to pick up something for them." She set the small bag of M&M's on top and sat down on the edge of the bed, putting her hand in his.

"So, I helped a girl today. She came in around midnight. Her head somehow wound up hitting the back of a metal chair while they were playing a game. They called it the 'Chair game.' She's got a pretty bruise, and a concussion, but she's fine, other than that." She smiled and brushed the bangs out of his eyes. "You are going to need a haircut soon. I'll bring my kit next time, and I'll give you a style you can kill all those ladies with."

"I don't know, I thought girls liked the shaggy look," a voice said from behind her. Alicia jumped and turned, putting a hand over her heart. "Alex! Don't sneak up on me like that! My goodness!"

Alex chuckled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, kissing her cheek. "So how is he doing?"

"He's absolutely miserable. I waved the M&M's in front of his nose, and he's tormented by the fact he can't wake up to eat them," Alicia said with a small smile. It slowly fell away, and she sighed, "I really didn't think it would take this long for him to wake up. I miss him and his jokes and… I miss Frank's real smile. And I miss all the trouble we'd get into."

"I know, Alicia. I know. But don't worry. Joe is going to smell all those treats and it will drive him to wake up." Alex turned her face to his and kissed her gently. Alicia pulled back in surprise.

"Alex!"

"What?" he asked sheepishly. "We've been dating for months."

Alicia turned red. "I didn't think we were exclusively dating, though." Alex gave her a strange look.

"You mean there is another guy in your life?"

"Yes," she said with a grin. "Quite a few, actually."

"Besides your brothers and their friends?"

"Of course!" She smiled as she counted on her fingers. "My father, Carson Drew…"

"Are you dating anyone else?" he changed quickly. She sighed.

"Not currently…"

"Cool, neither am I. So, would you, Alicia Hardy, like to be my girlfriend so I can kiss you without you running away?"

Alicia bit her lip. "Alex…"

"We don't work together, we're not seeing other people, your family likes me… Why are you still holding back, Alicia?" Alex looked sincerely heartbroken and it tore Alicia apart. She kissed him lightly, then pulled back and looked at him with sad eyes.

"Let me sleep on it tonight?"

Alex sighed and stood up. "I've got to go get ready for my shift. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alex, I'm sorry—" Alex had left and closed the door before she could finish. She turned to Joe and laid her head on the bed. "I blame you. I'm totally leading him on with a version of me that's not me. I would be heading off into danger, no ties to bind me, solving crime. I'd probably even have that internship Carson offered me. Or tried for the CIA one." She looked up at him with a small smile. "Come back so we can get into trouble." Alicia sat there for a little longer, and then stood. "Frank should be here soon. Don't tell him about Alex. He thinks I'm being silly about not wanting a real relationship. Then again, he and Callie broke up over something stupid he said just after this started. Don't know if he told you that. I just don't think he wants me repeating his mistakes." She kissed his cheek and turned towards the door, only to turn back to look at her hand. His fingers were curled around hers. She stared for a long minute, until she heard the door click open. She turned to see Frank there with a Crunch Bar.

"Hey Joe, Alicia. Look what I have," he said with a smile. Alicia didn't respond, just looked back down at her hand. "Alicia, what's wrong?" he asked, running to her side.

"Frank… look," she said, pointing with her free hand. Joe's hand was tightening on hers. Frank dropped the chocolate and ran to the door.

"Nurse! Somebody! Anybody! I think he's waking up!"

"Joe?" Alicia asked as a nurse rushed in, bringing in the tools to remove the feeding tube, first adjusting the drugs in the machine connected to the IV in his arm. Joe's hand relaxed again and Alicia looked horrified. "He was waking up! Why did you put him back under! He might not recover!"

"It probably was just a reflex," she said plainly, removing the feeding tube. "His brain function hasn't changed."

"That's a lie! I'm no idiot!"

"Alicia, calm down. Joe will be alright." Frank put a hand on her shoulder. "I watched her, she only gave him a minute dosage." Alicia sat back down, holding Joe's hand between hers, trying to get him to grasp her fingers again.

"It should wear off in an hour or two. We'll watch him over night," the nurse confirmed gently. Alicia nodded silently, suddenly tired and disappointed. "There is a button on the wall there if something happens again. I'll come running," she said with a kind smile.

Frank waited a moment, nodding to the nurse his thanks as she checked the machines and numbers, then left the room. "Are you coming home for dinner tonight? I hear Mom and Aunt Gertrude are making something special. Everyone would really like to see you again, Alicia. Just because you're old enough to be on your own now doesn't mean you have to do everything alone."

"I know," she said softly. "I'll come home tonight."

Frank smiled. "Want a ride? I told them I'd bring you home after visiting hours were over. I'd figure the three of us could read or catch up or… something."

"That sounds great," she said with a smile.

* * *

It was seven o'clock before Frank and Alicia stopped playing Speed and laughing. "We should do this more often," Alicia said wistfully. "I haven't laughed this much in a long while."

"We will," Frank promised. "You just need to come around more often. Come back home, Alicia. Mom and Dad and Aunt Gertrude really miss you. I really miss you," he added, ruffling her hair. She smiled and then nodded.

"Let's go home for dinner, and we'll talk about it there."

Frank put an arm around her shoulders, ruffling Joe's golden hair. "He really needs a haircut."

"You can help me tomorrow," Alicia said with a grin, leading him out. "Come on, I'm starving."

* * *

_**AN: Please review! The more reviews, the more I want to put up the next chapter! I know there are 100 of you who have actually read through the entire thing and didn't say anything. I just want to know what you think. Family feud noises are allowed. *Ding Ding Ding* *ennnnnnnnnnnn* Thank you for all of the support for those of you who came back to finish reading this. :) Y'all are great!**_


	7. Chapter 7

"So, are the Drews still coming into town today?" Alicia teased Frank as they fixed up the hospital room. Alicia had been convinced to move back home and work at the agency with her father and brother. She had also started taking night classes with Frank and had petitioned Mr. Drew about the internship again.

Frank sighed. "For the last time, there is nothing between me and Nancy—"

"Except twelve tons of explosives and a lit match," she muttered, batting her eyelashes.

"—Besides, she's still dating Ned…"

Alicia put her hand on her hip, turning to face him. "Didn't you hear? They split up. They got into a huge fight over that mystery, and it made them realize they didn't really see eye to eye and appreciate the same things. I hear it was a very clean breakup, and they are friends, but nothing more."

Frank scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe. I'll think about it."

"So you do love her?"

"Shut up," he said playfully, finishing his cleaning. "Okay, we're done."

Alicia picked up a picture frame and put it up on the dresser. It was the picture of them up on Mount Mirage, and it made Alicia smile. "I should find Nancy's favorite picture to put in here. I wonder where Joe put it."

"Which photo is that?" Frank asked, curiously.

Alicia grinned and shook her head. "I bet it's your favorite too."

"What is it?" he persisted.

"A beautiful sunset in Egypt," she said cryptically, leaving the room with a shrug.

Frank rolled his eyes, following her and picking up the car keys. "All of the sunsets in Egypt were beautiful. You'll have to be more specific."

Alicia smiled, holding the door open for him. "The one where you were smooching a beautiful girl, of course. You mean there was more than one of those? I wish we had the camera for more of those," she grinned wickedly.

Frank blanched, then turned red, then paled again. "When did you… how did you…"

Alicia shrugged. "Joe snapped it after you and Nancy left for the balcony. I thought it was rather clever." As she climbed into the passenger seat, she clasped her hands over her heart and batted her eyes. "Now you and Nancy will remember your second first kiss forever, and you can tell your kids—"

"Kids?"

"—All six of them," she confirmed, "how fate just couldn't keep you two apart, no matter how hard she tried."

Frank shook his head and started the car. "Get in, and let's go." She closed the door, triumphantly. Then he realized. "Wait, second first kiss?" Alicia smiled to herself.

"My secret." She coyly looked over at her older brother. "So you admit you like her?"

"No."

Alicia sighed and looked out the window. "You two are hopeless."

"Two?" He asked, pulling down the street. "I'm assuming you mean Nancy."

"Yep. Oh! That's her." She pulled out her cell phone. "You are early. …We were just on our way to the airport. …Yes, Frank is driving… Yeah, and he can't wait to see you. He's dying with anticipation," Alicia's voice said with a smile, completely ignoring the last question, and she could hear Carson chuckling beyond the airport noise. _Yes, I'm on speaker,_ she thought. "I happen to know for a fact that he's thinking about Egypt, and a certain sunset…"

"Am not!" Frank shouted. "Put it on speaker, Alicia."

"Frank! Do you want to give Nancy the wrong impression? That you're not —"

"Alicia! Stop! Please" Frank sighed in relief as the phone he grabbed from Alicia beeped. "Hey, Nancy. Sorry, Alicia still thinks she's sixteen and in high school."

Nancy smiled. "You're not what?"

Frank stammered for a reply as Alicia laughed. "Score! Oh goodness Nancy, you should see the colors of his face right now."

"How do you know about Egypt, anyways?" Nancy asked, as Carson chuckled again.

"I have my sources," she said with exaggerated mystery in her voice.

"What happened in Egypt?" Carson asked.

"Frank and Nancy took their undercover job seriously," Alicia grinned, ignoring the glare from Frank.

Frank's brother voice was obvious, as was the eye roll that accompanied the reply. "Apparently Joe took pictures after we left."

Nancy's blush turned redder, and her father gave her a curious look. "Oh. Um… Wow, okay. I can honestly say I did not see that coming."

"And she knows about the other one."

Nancy nodded, thinking back to the cabin and the avalanche. "Yeah, I think that was my fault. She had me cornered and interrogated me."

After a long moment of silence, Alicia asked with a smirk, "Need me to drive, Frank? You seem a little lost."

"Alicia, leave your brother alone," Nancy said with a sigh, though pleased with the confirmation that Frank's thoughts were similar to hers.

Alicia chuckled. "We're almost there. Give us five minutes, then we'll meet you at baggage claim."

Carson pondered for a moment. "I like Frank. I think I'd like to have him as a son-in-law."

"Dad! We're not even dating!"

Carson shrugged. "I can hope. I want grandbabies, and I'm sure Laura and Fenton do, too."

Alicia laughed. "Oh Frank! Please tell me, Mr. Drew, is Nancy's expression nearly as priceless as Frank's?"

"Yes, I do believe it is."

* * *

_**I decided I couldn't leave you guys hanging here with no Joe, so I'm posting the next chapter too. **_


	8. Chapter 8

A few more months, and Bess, George, Laura, Hannah, and Alicia were sitting in a dress shop, watching as Nancy tried on dress after dress. Alicia was smiling as she fixed Frank's bowtie, Frank beaming as he watched Nancy walk down the aisle.

_Hell no!_ Joe thought. _They might not need me, but I am NOT missing my bro's wedding, especially if it is to Nancy. I am not missing teasing them forever about being right. I'm not letting Alicia have all the fun, and I'm not letting her give up her life waiting for me. I am waking up! _

Joe's eye's shot open, and he gasped. Alicia looked up in shock and hit the call button from her wheelchair. "Nurse, hurry!" Frank put his hand on his brother's forehead, the other on his shoulder, trying to get him to relax.

"It's okay, baby bro. Relax. You are okay. Thank God, you are okay."

Alicia slid her hand into his. "Nancy and Mr. Drew were just here, too. They'll be excited to see you."

The nurse ran in with a doctor, moving the others out of the way, disconnecting the contraptions the newly awaken boy didn't need.

Joe blinked, and then asked, in a scratchy, unused voice, "I… didn't miss the wedding, did I?"

"What wedding," the nurse asked, looking at the readings.

Alicia smiled. "I was just teasing Frank and Nancy, saying the mood needed to be lightened, and a wedding would be the perfect thing. But this is better, much better."

Frank smiled down at his brother. "You were giving us quite the scare, Joe. Had we known all that was needed to wake you up was a bag of M&M's and Nancy to visit, we would have done that days ago."

Joe blinked again. "Days?" The nurse shot a glare at Frank, and he silenced. Joe continued with a shrug. "I was sure I'd been out for a year, and you and Nancy had six kids, and Alicia got all the I-told-you-so's, and I thought I heard Alicia mention a boy named Alex, and college—"

Frank chuckled. "Yeah, she's got a date with the EMT that brought her in. That's what we were discussing in this conversation. You must have heard all of it subconsciously, and it translated into… something we won't go into while both Nancy and I are dating someone else."

"And we're still in high school, Joe," Alicia said with a smile, "But college isn't that far off for us. I sent off our applications we'd filled out together yesterday."

Joe looked confused, blinking the sleep and the drugs away. "I could have sworn a lot more time had gone on without me. You guys eventually moved on with your lives… I wasn't there… No mysteries…"

Alicia kissed her brother's forehead. "You know Frank and I wouldn't let you sleep through all of this. We would have tried everything in our power."

"Large bag of M&M's will do it," Joe said with a smile. The doctor sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hardy, Miss Hardy. I need to double check and make sure there isn't any brain damage from the coma."

Frank nodded, and smiled as he walked towards the door, rolling Alicia ahead of him. "We'll be waiting for you, Joe. Hope you took good care of that brain. We still need your help and a case to solve."

Joe smiled. "Thank goodness," he said to the doctor as they hooked him up to another machine. "The angels can wait. My family can't."

* * *

**_AN: I am thinking one more chapter to explain what really happened is in order, since this is a huge twist that messes with two chapters, but I really didn't want to give it away by putting Joe's thoughts of what was going on in italics. So… let me know what you think? Inquiring minds want to know. I really hope I didn't butcher it for everyone. If I did, I have alternative endings. So let me know, Kay? :)_**


	9. Epilogue

"So, what really happened in that time frame I was out?" Joe asked as he sat in the hospital's courtyard. "Starting with you two and your fight."

Alicia looked sheepishly at Frank and shrugged. "We did fight. Twice, actually. The second time I burst my stitches, which is why I'm still here, condemned to this chair."

"She was quite unreasonable," Frank said with a smile. "I think she was trying to make up for you not being able to be unreasonable with her."

Joe motioned for them to continue, and Alicia sighed. "Frank was blaming himself, as usual, and I was blaming myself. Tensions were high and we got a little carried away."

"But we are fine now, and that's what's important," Frank said with a smile. Alicia nodded.

"Alright. What about this… Alex?"

"It's just a date!" Alicia cried. "Will you two knock it off?"

Joe shrugged. "In my head, you admitted you felt like you were leading him on." Alicia turned red, and Frank smiled.

"One date is not a lead on. Two and three definitely are though, which is what I explained to her thoroughly multiple times," Frank said with a smile.

"Just once," she muttered.

"A minute," Frank said with raised eyebrows. "She was very worried about this. I wished I could trade places with you so you could explain that to her."

"Alicia," Joe said seriously, putting a hand on her shoulder. "One date, is just that. A date. And you can DTR later."

"DTR?"

"Determine The Relationship," he put simply. "But there is one other thing I must know…" Joe said with mystery. "Did Mr. Drew really get in on the heckling? And how red did Frank and Nancy get?"

Frank stuttered. "W-we did not turn red!" Alicia just nodded and whispered behind her hand 'very'.

"What exactly did he say?"

Alicia perked up as Frank buried his head in his hands, and Nancy, who had been walking over, froze in her tracks a few yards behind Joe. "He said he wouldn't mind having Frank as a son in law, and he wanted grand kids," Alicia said proudly. "That's parental approval and father's blessing right there. And I'm pretty sure that's what woke you up," she said knowingly. "The wedding you didn't want to miss, how sweet."

"I'm just glad to see you are alright, Joe," Nancy said, changing the conversation, walking up behind him and giving him a small hug. "Bess was devastated when she heard, so after a very long call explaining you were alright, she wanted me to give you this." She pecked him on the cheek, and Joe blinked.

"Wow, maybe I should play that card more often. I get a kiss from Bess via the Nancy Drew. Ow! Hey, I'm still injured!" Three slugs all aimed for Joe's shoulder landed in perfect succession.

"Don't let mom hear you joke like that. You gave us all heart palpitations," Alicia said sternly.

Joe shrugged. "So tell me, this… Alex…"

"So, Joe Hardy is awake? That's good news," the EMT said as he walked over to the group. It was Alicia's turn to bury her head.

"Oh, so _this _must be Alex," Joe said with a grin, sticking out his hand to shake Alex's. "I've heard so little about you." Alicia's ears, which were the only part of her head not covered by her arms, turned bright red.

"Joe, you've only been out for seventy two hours at the most. You don't have to make up for missing time on embarrassing us," she muttered.

"Oh, yes I do. Too bad I don't have Dad's wallet, I'd go straight to the baby pictures."

"Joe!" Alicia cried.

Alex chuckled. "Well, I just came over to steal your sister away for lunch. You can embarrass her later."

"See ya later!" Alicia said, shooting up and turning her wheelchair around with a single motion she had practiced over and over during the stay. Alex smiled and followed, pushing her chair, from behind.

"Bring her back by dinner!" Frank and Joe said at the same time.

"Jinx! Can't say anything until I've said your full names, or someone else does." Nancy waved to Alicia with a smug grin on her face. "What?" she asked at the brothers' looks. "I'm just giving her the chance to get away, Franklin and Joseph Hardy."

"That was cold and low," Joe pouted. "I've been silent for days and you catch me in a jinx? Not fair."

Nancy shrugged. "You can owe me sodas instead, if you'd like."

"Actually, good idea. Orange soda all around!" Joe called out, not caring who heard. "We have reasons to celebrate. My sister is out living life, my brother is engaged, and my sister in law to be just gave me a kiss!"

"You're never going to let the wedding thing drop, will you?" Nancy asked with a sigh as she stood to get the soda.

"I'll go with you," Frank said quickly, just as Joe said:

"Not until you two actually get married, no." He waved his fingers as Frank sat down quickly again, not wanting to give his brother reason for encouragement. "Ah, go have fun, you two. And bring me back my soda. You don't know how much I've missed fizzy drinks."

"I can guess," Frank said with a smile. "It's great to have you back."

"Well," Joe said seriously, "You can't have a wedding without a best man, and I'm sticking around for that. The angels can wait for a moment."

* * *

_Sorry, huge writer's block, but I think this straightens out the time warp. Sorry, it's not my best, but I would like to know what you think. With this, I think, it is a wrap. I hope you guys enjoyed. Please check out my mystery and my other stories. Thank you, my loyal followers, for sticking around this long. _


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